February 2020

Photos courtesy Shrub Farm and Apple State Vinegar

The Shrub Farm Story

Josh and Tomo Kramer discovered shrub on a visit to Japan when Tomo’s mother pulled a jar of purple liquid from her pantry, added water, and served what Josh described as “literally the most refreshing thing I’ve ever had.” It was a mixture of white vinegar and blueberries from Tomo’s mother’s yard.

literally the most refreshing thing I’ve ever had

Upon returning to their home in Maui, they experimented with recreating the refreshing beverage they enjoyed in Japan using locally available tropical fruits like guava, pineapple, and liliko’i (aka passion fruit). The results were fabulous. A bit like kombucha, but more crisp and clean.

Josh and Tomo opened Maui Shrub Farm and started selling at the Maui Farmers Market.

After their son was born, the couple moved to Bellingham, where Josh grew up, to be near family and to expand their business on the mainland. Initially named Cascade Shrub Farm, the business name has been simplified to Shrub Farm to avoid confusion between the Maui and Cascade brands.

Supporting Local Farmers

Shrub Farm continues to source ingredients from both Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest. “Our goal is to support local farmers. We directly source as much as we can from people we know and from farmers market vendors. Even the fruit we get from Maui, like the Hawaiian chili and hibiscus, we get directly from farmers we know,” said Josh.

Shrub Farm products are unique in that they are raw. Most other brands go through a heating process to add sugar and juice before bottling. Shrub Farm uses a cold-steeping process. Whole organic fruits soak in vinegar for one week before the mixture is strained and every living bacteria-rich drop of vinegar is squeezed from the fruit. The only nonorganic fruit used by Shrub Farm is Maui Gold pineapples.

The result is a highly potent fruit-flavored raw vinegar.

The cold steeping process pulls vitamins and enzymes from the fruit and preserves the essence of the living vinegar culture called the “mother,” which at 6% acidity is 20% stronger than most store brands.

The Versatile Uses of Shrub

Shrub is a versatile addition to the home pantry. Josh estimates that less than half of his customers use Shrub Farm as a cocktail mixer. The rest drink for it for the health benefits of the mother. Because you only need one-half ounce of shrub for an eight-ounce drink, it’s an economical way to get a healthful boost. And, shrub is great for kids too.

less than half of his customers use Shrub Farm as a cocktail mixer

I purchased a bottle of the Ginger & Hawaiian Chili before Christmas and used it to make a few cocktails, many mocktails, and used it in a salmon marinade mixed with roasted sesame oil and coconut aminos (it was delicious!). I used the remainder of the bottle to mix with sparkling water for a nightly after-dinner refresher and I am pleasantly hooked.

Josh’s favorite is Hibiscus & Orange. Mixed with still or sparking water (10:1 dilution), it is his go-to drink whenever he’s thirsty or needs an energy boost. He also uses it in this delicious Harvest Hibiscus Salad recipe.

The No. 1 selling flavor, Ginger & Hawaiian Chili, won a 2020 Good Food Award in the elixir category competing against elixers from across the U.S. In our eyes, Shrub Farm was already a winner.

Shrub has uses beyond cocktails and mocktails. On the Shrub Farm website you can find a variety of delicious recipes from tangy salad dressings to these pillowy Fluffy Shrub Pancakes.

Introducing Apple State Vinegar

As if Josh and Tomo weren’t busy enough, the couple launched a second brand in 2019: Apple State Vinegar.

The vinegar was already the base for all of their Shrub Farm products and people loved the flavor so much they decided to bottle it for sale separately. It is a raw apple cider vinegar made from 100% organic Washington state apples.

We created the brand with the 6% mission at the core.

Josh said he can’t bottle the vinegar fast enough to keep up with demand. “We had access to this great Washington state organic vinegar and now everyone can enjoy it, not just as shrub but however they like. We created the brand with the 6% mission at the core.”

Six percent of Apple State Vinegar profits are donated to nonprofit organizations dedicated to protecting ocean health. Josh and Tomo were inspired to give back by their years living in coastal communities and witnessing the impact people have had on Puget Sound and the devastating decline of resident orca populations.

If you haven’t tried Shrub Farm or Apple State Vinegar, I hope you’ll give it a try soon and toast to your good health!

Choose from six unique Shrub Farm flavors—Ginger & Hawaiian Chili • Blueberry & Lemon • Pineapple & Sage • Hibiscus & Orange • Raspberry & Citrus • Ginger & Apple

Need some recipe ideas? Below are a few of Josh and Tomo's favorite recipes. You can find even more recipes online at Apple State Vinegar and Shrub Farm.

Maple-Ginger Tummy Tonic

Cascadia Daily Cocktail

Harvest Hibiscus Salad

Visit the Shrub Farm website or follow them on Instagram or Facebook. Visit the Apple State Vinegar website or follow them on Instagram or Facebook.